“But the hospital never sent her bills to Medicaid, which would have paid for the care in full, and the hospital refused requests to do so. Instead, it pursued an amount five times higher from Ms. Smith directly by placing a lien on her accident settlement.”
“Parkview is among scores of wealthy hospitals that have quietly used century-old hospital lien laws to increase revenue, often at the expense of low-income people like Ms. Smith. By using liens — a claim on an asset, such as a home or a settlement payment, to make sure someone repays a debt — hospitals can collect on money that otherwise would have gone to the patient to compensate for pain and suffering.”
Medicynical Note: No surprises here, to understand the core values of American healthcare providers just follow the money and observe the trickery used to maximize revenue……which of course discourages service. Charging the least able to pay the most is a long-standing American hospital tradition.
Medicynic 